The Greatest Game
by The Great Wicked
Summary: The Game is afoot and Moriarty is alive. Sherlock will need al the help he can get, great minds are coming together to take down one of the darkest. Sherlock/OFC


The Greatest Game

The Great Wicked

Where was the safest place in all the world? A child would believe it is under the safety of their blankets with their favorite blanket, but an adult would think it behind a locked door. And a smart adult knew that there was no such place. And a criminal, knew that you had to make your own.

OOO

The safest place for a criminal in the known world was Switzerland, the Swiss don't extradite criminals. All of these things she had taken into consideration when it was time to disappear and for two years she had lived in perfect safety among the Swiss. The people who have all the money in the world and ask no questions.

The snows obscured the sky as the winter winds blew hard and as she walked to her flat a much colder chill creeped up her spine and pricked her skin. It was the first time in two years that an odd feeling had come over her, her eyes scanned the street, it was full of people and despite the list of enemies she had, it was an unlikely place for an attack of any sort. There were nothing but smiling faces and happy chatter, maybe it was just an odd feeling that comes on you whenever things have been quiet for too long. It had been an uneventful two years, she shrugged the feeling off and continued home with her groceries in hand. God it had been a boring two years…

OOO

All across London TV's had changed their programs instantly and it on a plane that was destined for a cold and bitter place, it turned sharply around after only four minutes of flight and as it landed, a relieved and yet con what confused consulting detective, the only one in the world, disembarked to two happy friends.

"Sherlock, whats going on?" John asked as Mary stood by his side, both so happy to see their friend off that plane, but in truth there was a little bit of fear behind that. What forces the British Government to change its mind?

"It seems that the game is afoot, and we are returning to Baker Street."

"But why? What about your assignment?" Mary asked trying to disguise the confusion in her voice as well as the fear.

"Sherlock, whats wrong?" John asked as the mood grew darker.

Sher lock gave no response at first but instead he pulled out a smartphone and played the video that had been sent to him from Mycroft. All other questions were forgotten as an image of a man who horrified them all came on the screen, along with the audio. _'Did you miss me?'_

The man on the screen was Moriarty. And apparently, he was like Sherlock, very much alive.

OOO

The flat was quiet but it was cold… So very cold, she hated being cold so she always left on the radiator on, why was it cold in her flat? The cold chill she felt earlier had returned, and immediately in her mind a list began to form, a list of people she knew who wanted to hurt her.

Doubt began to flood her mind, maybe she'd forgotten to close it? It was entirely plausible, she reasoned to herself. No, no it wasn't.

She tried to stave off panic, searching for an explanation, she shut the door but left her coat on, the bags she set of the floor and moved to the desk. Inside a false bottom in the top drawer she pulled out the cold black form of a gun. It was an unfamiliar object and it terrified her even to hold it, but it wasn't the first time. A round in the chamber and the safety off, she stepped quietly and cautiously, avoiding the places on the floor that she knew would creak. And although whomever knew she was home, didn't know where she was. One by one, she turned on the lights and looked in the darkness, checking every corner. Trying very much to stay calm, even though the panic was mounting within her.

The kitchen was dark and empty, dishes in the sink and a kettle on the stovetop. Ten steps away was her bedroom, the bed still unmade and some clothes on the floor, books stacked on a shelf made of cinderblocks and plywood. The closet was empty, and no assassins were there. The last room was the living room where her equipment was, it was normally the warmest room in the flat because of the warmth put out by the monitors and the towers. But now it was cold, like the rest of the flat, someone else was indeed here. The power source pulled from the outlet, and that was as clear a danger sign as could be.

With the gun still at her side, she stepped back cautiously reaching for her bag only to feel something directly behind her as it pounced on the floor. She screamed and turned sharply firing a shot into the darkness, at nothing. There was nothing there but a black cat.

"Sergio!" The panic settled a bit but there was still danger, she scratched his head behind his ears, his favorite spot. "Ok boy, its time to go." She reached down to pick him up and held him in her arm, the cat happy to see her and his purring made her feel a little more at ease. The only creature in the world that wouldn't hurt her, and wanted nothing from her but food and a warm lap, it was time to be on the move. The animal chipped at her in his usual quirky way and for a second she smiled. Then the lights went out and the room was plunged into darkness.

Sergio leapt from her arms and growled the feral growl of a hunter but he couldn't protect her, within seconds there were hands on her arms and the gun wrestled out of her grip. It fell to the floor useless and all she could do was utter a scream as a black bag was pulled over her head and the world went to complete blackness.

OOO

"Moriarty." The name hung in the air for a few moments once they'd reached the palace, and Mycroft's office. Behind locked doors they could discuss the thing that had been the reason for Sherlocks change of flight plan.

"Yes, Moriarty." Neither of them was entirely certain of what to say, it was amazing how that name brought so much fear. Not that either Mycroft or Sherlock would admit to being afraid of Moriarty. And that being the case then both men were fools.

"What do we know?"

"Very little." Mycroft offered a cup of tea to Sherlock "Aparently tele's all across London somehow have Moriarty's face on them and a badly photoshopped picture of him along with the audio-"

"Did you miss me?" Sherlock finished, not liking his brothers unbelievably slow and boring drawl. "Hardly poetic."

"But equally terrifying." Sherlock rolled his eyes slightly, "Dear brother do remember, this is a man who had all of London believing you were a fraud and yo _did _ fake you own death."

"Whats being done to control the media?"

Mycroft chuckled, "Moriarty's face has just been plastered on every tele in London. Really Sherlock, what would you do?"

"Lie." Such a simple answer, "Say is was a training exercise or the work of some sort of groupie cult trying to scare the city." Mycroft had that same look of distaste on his face, a rather sour look but then again he always had that look. "Isn't that what the government usually does? Lie and rather badly I might add, you'd think for a government frequently full of bad ideas would be able to create and equally convincing lie."

"This isn't a time to be childish, Sherlock. We cannot orchestrate a coverup when nearly every citizen of London saw Moriarty on their teles. Now, the question we should be asking is…" Moriarty trailed off allowing Sherlock to catch up.

"He couldn't have survived. I saw him blow his brains out with his pistol."

"Are you sure you saw what you saw?" Mycroft asked, at this point anything was possible.

"You're thinking he faked his death, as I did mine." Sherlock paused to consider all the possibilities, was it really out of the realm of reality? A man like Moriarty, had nearly unlimited resources and a very large pool of people who were very invested with his well being. And he was very intelligent, Sherlocks greatest rival, the greatest challenge he'd ever faced. "I considered every possibility when I walked into that roof, every angle, every scenario. He must have done the same. It's impossibly naive to believe otherwise."

The mind of Sherlock Holmes was a very strange contraption, capable of amazing feats and incredible possibilities. Any equation solved, every meaningful memory recalled as though he were reading it from a book or watching it like a movie. On the other hand… it was about as unpredictable as a wet bag of cats. The room was quiet as the gears were beginning to turn, or rather, turn faster, as the gears never really stopped. Even in his sleep he was always thinking. For the moment he had no idea how it could have been done.

"I was standing two feet from him. I shook his hand, and then he pulled the gun out of his pocket and put the barrel into his mouth. His blood hit me in the face, how could anyone have faked that?"

Mycroft's phone chimed, he could tell this would take longer than they had. A quick reply back, and he stood in front of his desk, waiting. "Oh don't hurt yourself Sherlock, thats only a piece of the puzzle and we'll be needing more than your mind if we're to solve this."

Not more than ten seconds later, the doors to the office burst open and in strode two men in black suits wrestling someone with a bag over their head and hands cuffed behind her back. It was obviously a woman judging by the small frame, the heeled boots. Yet, despite the two large framed men their hostage had given them quite a bit of hell, their suits torn in a few spots and one of them with a blackening eye.

"So, it takes two men to control a woman?" Mycroft asked, clearly unamused.

"Girl's got a bit of fire in 'er." A second of distraction was all it took and her knee thrusted sharply up into the mans groin and he hit the ground, his compatriot however had grown rather tired of the struggle and quickly backhanded the hostage sending her sharply to the ground.

"Thats enough!" Mycroft snapped, both men reached their senses and regained their composure. "I think a seat for our guest?" The two men forced her into an awaiting chair, taking hold of the bag over her head one pulled upwards. The face beneath was actually quite pretty, although it was etched with fear, and a red mark forming on her left cheek. Her hair was a dark russet, red color and badly tangled and looking like she just rolled out of bed. She'd been captive for at least forty-eight hours, panic set in her eyes at least it was for a moment as they darted around the room, taking in her surroundings. A rather posh looking office and at its center a older man who looked as though he'd tasted sour milk or improperly brewed tea. A man she apparently knew rather well because the second she saw his face, the fear disappeared and she relaxed in her chair and then she began to laugh.

"Oh, thank God. Its only the British Government. And here for a moment, I was worried it might have been an important organization." Mycroft frowned, "Or at least an intelligent one."

"Watch your mouth!" One of the men said raising his hand again. "That's the British Government you're talking about."

"Or what? You're gonna hit me some more? You men and your fists… You think you can beat anything into submission and that it makes you more of a man." She scoffed at the man. "You have nothing to threaten me with, nothing to do with all that strength." He began to fume.

"That's enough." Mycroft intervened, "Go."

The woman smiled with a wiley grin, "Bye-bye lover boy. I'm gonna miss you." She taunted as the men left.

"Well, I can see you're charm has grown considerably, you were much quieter last time we met." Mycroft said completely ignoring Sherlock who was at quite a loss as to whom this woman was and what was going on.

"Last time we met, I was a naive girl afraid of the big, bad men in black coats. I think we can both agree theres nothing to be afraid of here."

Mycroft smiled his 'tolerable' smile, the one that said he was dealing with an intelligent person and one he needed, but he still had the upper hand. "So, how are you Adelia?"

"Well! I was black-bagged in my flat and I'm hand-cuffed to a chair and most certainly not in any sort of enjoyable sense, so… Lovely! And you how are you Mycroft? Picked up a bit of weight I see?"

"And you've picked up a bit of an attitude. How was Switzerland? Enjoy your vacation?"

"I wasn't on vacation, I was in hiding. But you already knew that, you let me hide, didn't you?" Sherlock cleared his throat, the woman looked towards the tall, elegant man in the suit. "And you must be baby brother, Sherlock. You're taller than I expected." She looked back to Mycroft, "Is that how you found me? Got the smart brother out looking for me? Didn't realize I warranted the attention of Mycroft Holmes, on an undocumented assignment."

Well now, this was interesting. She had eyes. It was Mycroft's turn to laugh, "Silly girl, you really think you're here because you're that important?"

"Mycroft, are you saying I'm not the most important person of interest on your list?"

"My dry-cleaning is more important than you, Addy."

"Thats not my name." Her words were sharp now, she didn't like that name.

"But people do call you Addy."

"Only my friends. And you're no friend." There was tension in her voice.

"Tell me, how are your powers of observation lately? Still sharp?"

"Sharp as a tack." She responded.

"Prove it." A pause now. "Why are you here?"

"You tell me." It became a staring game now, with neither of them blinking. "You need me for something. I don't know what, but I can tell you i'm not interested."

"I think you will once I fill you in." Mycroft was searching for something in her eyes, a weakness in her armor. "It just the thing your type of people would be up for."

"My _type_ of people?" She stood up from the chair, hands still cuffed behind her back, "My type of people would say _piss off._"

"You know you're looking at life in prison?"

"On what charges?"

"Oh, does it really matter? We could find any number of incriminating evidence on your laptop and hard rive. So, what shall it be? Espionage? Murder? Conspiracy? Possession of child pornography?"

"Oh now thats just sick. And really? Is that the best you can do? You of all people should know, Mycroft Holmes you never try to out-think a hacker." To further her point there was some clicking sounds from behind her back and a second later the handcuffs were off and clattered to the floor. Mycroft was unamused, Sherlock raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Case in point, you're goons aren't very intelligent and don't expect much from a hacker. Certainly not that she could pickpocket them while handcuffed in a moving car."

"How did you get that?"

"Where was she keeping it?" Sherlock asked convinced it was the more interesting question.

"Women have more hiding places than men." She said very frankly to Sherlock, almost daring him to give her a once over, daring him to use his imagination. "And your men weren't exactly thorough when they searched me. In any rate, thank you for the quick trip and I'll be going now. I'm sure I can find my way out, no need for an escort."

"And what makes you think you'll leave this building?" Mycroft asked waiting for the answer with a smile on his face, still thinking he had the upper hand. She turned and smiled a wily grin, a grin Sherlock had seen Irene Addler grin at him before.

"Why, you're going to let me." She said very simply. "You see, as a hacker, we live on the run and are constantly looking over our shoulders, we check the darkest corners and prepare back up plans for our back up plans. We consider every possible scenario and we are never unprepared and we are never alone." The smile on Mycroft's face faded quickly. "Hidden in my equipment is a beacon. An emergency signal to my friends, fellow hackers and people who owe me debts. If it is ever triggered, then those who I trust, include my good Swiss officials friends will know something is wrong and they will begin searching for me, but how will they find me?" She asked before either of them could, she lifted her left hand displaying a ring with a turquoise stone in it. "Pretty isn't it? Turquoise are my favorite and have been since I was little. Inside this ring is a GPS tracking device that is activated the moment the beacon is triggered."

"And how will you trigger this beacon if you're here?"

"Thats the best part!" She chuckled, "Your men did it for me." Mycroft frowned, Sherlock smiled. He liked her confidence. "You should teach your men to never mess with a hackers equipment. They pulled the power strip from the wall and shut down all of my equipment. A hacker has to power down their gear and when they pulled it from the wall it triggered the beacon." Oh. "Don't feel bad Mycroft, it was one of thirteen ways to trigger the beacon and as of now my flat is being swarmed by my friends."

"You're bluffing."

Adelia walked right up to him and stood three feet from him with a stern look on her face. "Do you really want to take that chance? The Swiss don't like having their citizens snatched from their country, and they like it even less when the citizen is a good friend of the Swiss Prime Minister. So, that said. Checkmate. Enjoy your problems, Mycroft after all they are your problems." She turned back on her heels and headed towards the door.

Sherlock had rarely seen Mycroft Holes bested, by a woman no less, he looked to his brother waiting for what came next.

"Jim Moriarty." Was all he said, the moment the words left his mouth Adelia stopped dead in her tracks and she felt the color drain from her face. The chill returned once more, it was true that she had the upper hand but with the mention of that name, her upper hand immediately vanished. Potentially. Was he bluffing? Could she take that risk? She turned her head to face him, then turned fully assessing him and his truthfulness.

"Is dead. Don't you read the papers?"

"Don't you watch tele?"

"Why would I do that? The BBC reports the news, its the governments job to fabricate it. Why would I believe everything I see? Thats foolish. Jim Moriarty is dead and has been for over two years."

"Is that why you thought you were safe?" Mycroft continued to pry. "Because you think he's dead."

"Get to the point." She said staying put for the moment, Mycroft has succeeded in getting her attention. Mycroft motioned for her to look towards the television on the wall and a second late Moriarty's face appeared mouthing the words _"Did you miss me?" _Adelia stifled a gasp and the fear returned to her face but she tried to keep her composure. The footage continued to play, the words over and over in his voice, that cold voice. After several repetitions she felt the voice would drive her mad, she walked quickly towards Mycroft and snatched the remote form him silencing the footage. Quiet returned to the room once more. "That's not proof he's alive. It could be a prank, the image was badly photoshopped and its not that hard to synthesize a voice if you have prerecorded audio to manipulate."

"Can _you _take that chance?" Moriarty echoed her words as she felt she had won. "Six years ago there was a breach in security at CERN in Switzerland, and for twenty-four hours information pertaining to a highly classified weapons project went missing and was compromised. Twenty-four hours later the information was returned and the security breach disabled. All was well. You were implicated, yet never charged, and it seemed that the Swiss didn't want any bad publicity so it all went away. What do you think of that?"

"As you said, I was never charged."

"But we both know that you were involved, as was Jim Moriarty. Wasn't he?" There was a flicker of something Sherlock's eyes, perhaps a flash of anger. "You must have had a sponsor, to break into that type of security. Someone to employ you, we've never had a suspect but in recent years Moriarty's network has been uncovered, as did information concerning a contact that escaped Moriarty and betrayed him. That was you, wasn't it?"

Adelia was quiet for a moment. "Well, you should know better than to listen to gossip. _IF_ I had any type of involvement, it was never proven. And besides if you had any concrete proof, we'd be having a very different conversation, wouldn't we?"

"Why did you betray Moriarty? I'm not here to arrest you, I only want the truth, it may save your life if he is alive." Adelia's conscience battled with her common sense. "You're afraid of him, aren't you?"

"I am afraid of him and if you have any sense at all then you should be too." Adelia knew the jig was up and there was no sense in delaying what everyone already knew. "I'm a criminal and a very smart one. I break into systems and crash security, steal things because its fun. Each one is a puzzle, and each one is harder than the last. Programers and IT officials are constantly learning from their mistakes and then making whole new ones, I do what I do because otherwise I get bored. I have an IQ of 189 and I have an eidetic memory, I never forget. When Moriarty contacted me, I didn't low who he was, and I didn't believe in monsters." She paused returning to the memory, "So, when a mysterious client approached me and said he had a puzzle for me to break, who has better security than CERN? Maybe the Vatican? Certainly not the British Government."

"Miss Adelia Ortese was first noticed by the government when she was twelve years old and she graduated from university at the top of her class, six month later there was a scandal implying that she had broken into the schools system and played havoc on the grades. She was expelled and the matter kept quiet to avoid humiliation for the school. What could be more humiliating than a twelve year old girl making a school look ridiculous. She was then monitored until she disappeared from all modern society."

"I went underground."

"And how does Moriarty play into this?" Sherlock finally asked hating when he had to do so.

"Moriarty employed me to break into CERN and steal information, i never knew what for until I had it. Do you know what Anit-Matter is?" Sherlock scoffed. "It was research and development for what some people call the God-Particle, moriarty wanted to try and weaponize it and use it as a bomb. The research fell through and it was highly unstable. Now, I may be a criminal but I'm not a monster and I wanted nothing to do with that he had planned. I scrambled his system and went into hiding after I fixed what I had broken. I've been on the run from him ever since. He doesn't like being betrayed and I didn't want to find out what he had planned for me. I've kept out of trouble since then, so-to-speak."

"And thats why we never pursued you. Until now." All eyes were on Mycroft now, "We do need your help, and it seems you need our protection from this man."

"This man…" She echoed. "And how will you protect me? You can't even protect yourselves, Jim Moriarty is a monster, he cares for nothing and no one. He delights in seeing people fight for his attentions and enjoys the suffering of others. The only just for a man like that is a bullet in the head and five more to be sure. There is no trial and no system of judgement that can pay him back for the things he's done. What will you do?"

"For now, we have to find him. Will you help us?"

Adelia greatly considered her options, weighing everything. "What do I get?"

"If you aid us in the capture of the criminal known as Jim Moriarty then you name your price."

"My record expunged, citizenship restored and protection for myself and any of my contacts who aids us. And you don't ever darken my doorstep again."

"Done."

"Mycroft," She paused. "If you lie to me or betray me. I will personally remove your lying tongue."

OOO

Alright, so I realize I'm comig down with a terrible case of 'Alt-Itis' in regards to my stories but I'm weak and couldn't help posting a potential story. So here's the deal, I will only add more if I receive reviews, so lets say I'll add more when I hit at least five review. And please folks, no 'one-liners' I would really like to know what you like or don't like. And I'd REALLY love to know what you all think of Adelia, an honorable mention to whomever can tell me where he name comes from! Happy trails and check out my other stories!


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